Blame it on Fidel

From riches to rags: a once-privileged child learns a thing or two about solidarity

Future stock brokers, corporate CEOs and libertarians beware: the
title of Julie Gavras’s debut writing-directing effort is strictly
ironic. Blame it on Fidel (France, 2007), while not as
shamelessly didactic as many leftist American movies, lets you know
exactly where it stands on the political spectrum.

Gavras uses as subject matter the social movements following the
student and worker protests in May of 1968. Just as political unrest
gripped the heart of the late 60s social climate in the United
States—sharpening the bite of the civil rights, anti-war and women’s
liberation movements—so too did a culture clash polarize the people of
France. But instead of demonstrating the situation by focusing on the
life and times of activists, Blame it on Fidel portrays the worldview of a child stuck in the middle.

Raised in a grand mansion with spacious halls and rooms, a lush
garden and plenty of nannies caring for her wellbeing, little Anna de
la Mesa takes the privileges of her upper middle class lifestyle as
God-given rights. Yet the protective bubble of her charmed existence
pops after her parents Fernando and Marie rescue her aunt and cousin
from Francoist Spain. The fascist government’s police have arrested
Fernando’s brother for being a Communist, which leads the de la Mesas
to think twice about sacrificing their beliefs just to live in luxury.
They decide to depart from their upper middle class lifestyle and
remove Anna from religion class in divinity school. They opt for a
comparatively meager living space: a cramped apartment with books and
pamphlets strewn about everywhere. Gone are the dinner parties and
white dresses. Gone are days when friends envied her and longed to
sleep over at her place. And you better believe Anna’s not happy about
it.

Due to Anna’s bottomless curiosity and habit of eavesdropping on
mommy and daddy through cracked-open doors, we learn about Marie’s
project to write a book based on interviews with women who procured
illegal abortions and Fernando’s rallying abroad for Salvador Allende,
a Socialist Party member campaigning to become president of Chile. Anna
at first despises her father’s long haired, radical house guests, who
call her a “little mummy” for siding with her Francoist grandparents
and valuing the accumulation of personal wealth over sharing with the
less fortunate.

In a key scene, a Chilean socialist divides an orange Anna
peeled into several pieces, suggesting everyone in the kitchen should
receive the same amount of fruit to demonstrate group solidarity. Anna
rejects his notion. Instead, she snatches the orange back and offers
slices for sale, encouraging her customers to resell them for profit.
Gavras thus illustrates the conflicting viewpoints of socialists and
capitalists, comparing the former to educated adults and the latter to
selfish children.

Will the de la Mesas forfeit their cause and move back to their
old home? Will Anna ever come around to seeing things the same way as
her parents? Will the Chilean activists ever find a comb or a pair of
scissors and do something with their hair? I guess you’ll have to add Blame it on Fidel to your Netflix or Blockbuster Total Access queue to find out.